We're Baaaack!

Dave and I are back from our fabulous trip to Italy. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary and to take a break from our 'real' life.

We started out in Verona to visit my cousin Alessia. Her mother Rosa, boyfriend Marco, and Alessia were the ultimate hosts. They cooked us delicious, traditional, Italian meals. We always started with antipasti that consisted of prosciutto, parmesan and romano cheese, olives, bread and salami that Marco's father had made, paired with wonderful, light, sparkling, white wine. Next would be a homemade soup or pasta. Then of course, we would move to Rosa's living room for limoncello. Here is a picture of Dave, Alessia, Marco and Rosa in the kitchen:


Alessia and Marco took us around the city center of Verona on Saturday. Most people know Verona from Romeo and Juliet, and there is a statue to commemorate her. We visited the castle of the della Scala family and the arena. Verona has a few delightful walking streets that you can easily stroll to get a feeling of the city. We dined outside on some appetizers and our new favorite drink, the aperol spritz, at Piazza Erbe. On Sunday, we took a trip to Bardolino which is on Lake Garda. It was a great little lakeside town. I can only imagine how beautiful and lively it is in the summer months. We strolled the streets and had lunch at a pizzeria.

Then it was on to Venice. Though we were only in Venezia for 24hrs, we definitely felt the magic of that city. St Mark's is one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Here is a picture of us from the terrace on top of the church:

We then toured the Palazzo Ducale. We then took the vaporetto (water bus) to a point far from our hotel and just wandered our way back. Venice is such an amazing city to just get lost in and see what you stumble upon.

After Venice, we headed to Florence. We realized the benefit of November travel when we were able to walk right up to Michelangelo's The David and the Uffizi Gallery with no lines. The David truly is amazing and leaves you in awe. The Duomo, which can be seen in the picture below is truly magnificent:


We also saw San Lorenzo and the market there and Santa Croce and the leather factories. We did most of our shopping in Florence. If you're on our Christmas or Hanukkah list, there's a good chance your gift came from Florence!

After Florence, we headed back to Verona. We so enjoyed our time with all of them. It was nice to just BE together.
Here is a picture of me and Alessia in her apartment:



After we had our teary goodbye from Verona we headed to Milan. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around. The city was very alive on a Saturday evening. We went inside La Scala opera house and as luck would have it they were practicing for their production of Don Carlo. So, we got to see opera performed at La Scala!

We loved our trip...we loved drinking espresso 3-4 times a day...we loved the food (pasta, antipasti, pastries, olive oil, eggplant, black cabbage, anchovies, steak, pizza, fish, etc)...we loved the beautiful, sacred, churches...we loved strolling the walking streets...we loved the centuries old art...we loved aperol spritz....we loved the fine wine at a cheap price...we loved spending time with family...and we loved being together in this unique country.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving with lots o' food, football, family, friends, laughs, and lots to be thankful for!!

*yes, we're still in Italy

Ciao for Now

Dave and I are headed to Italy! We'll be going to Verona, Venice, Florence and Milan. Not that we need a reason to go to Italy but:

1) It's our 5 year anniversary on November 22...yeah us!

2) My lovely cousin, Alessia and her mother Rosa live in Verona. We last saw them a year ago and can't wait to see and spend time with them!

3)It's our last hurrah.

Everyone says to enjoy this time of baby freedom while you can. Does eating great food, drinking all the wine and cappuccino we can, seeing beautiful art, shopping and visiting family in Italy count? I think so!

Arrevederci!!

What's with all this waiting?

I had a question about the waiting. Why are the children 8-12mos old when they come home? Why does the process take so long?

The South Korean government has been understandably trying to increase domestic adoption and has added some new rules to their adopton policies. 2007 was the first year more children were adopted by Koreans domestically than abroad. One of the new rules included a 5 month period where a child could ONLY be adopted domestically. After 5 months if the child is not adopted domestically, they can be referred internationally (that's us!). The amount of paperwork that needs to be done in both the U.S. and Korea after a child is referred internationally to get travel clearance takes approximately 3-6months. So, that's why he will be anywhere from 8-12 months old, when he comes home.

Adoption is a long process. As you can see from the timeline, there's a lot that needs to be done. There's a lot of filling our of paperwork, getting paperwork approved, backround checks, fingerprinting, physicals, scheduling appointments, etc. There are also a lot of families looking to adopt from Korea. Really, I think having a certain period of waiting is good. There is a lot to be done and a lot to learn. I say that now, but I know we will have some low moments of waiting.

"When you're feeling low and the fish won't bite...

...you need a little bit o'Seoul to put you right."


We got an update on where we are on the waiting list. We are approximately #20 on the list for a boy. Our agency has been averaging 3 boy referrals a month. Some months have more, some have less. If that pace continues, we could expect a referral about June 2009. Then we would travel to Korea 3-5mos later to bring him home.

We honestly have no gender preference, but the chances of a boy are about 99%. The most desired child by couples all over the world, for various reasons, is the youngest, healthiest girl...leaving more boys available for adoption. So, our agency and many others do not let first time parents request a gender. That's just fine with us...we will be MORE than THRILLED with a boy!!! We can't wait for the day that our referral comes and we can share him with you.

Posie says "Happy Halloween!!"

Done with the Homestudy!

We had our final homestudy appointment, which was the home visit. Really, it was a breeze. The social worker took a tour of our house...some of you have had more detailed tours! She didn't inspect anything, she really just wanted a feel for how we live. She stayed for about 1 1/2 hrs and we talked about the process coming up and what some of our plans are. It was fun to talk about how when she calls us with a baby and then the how the travel arrangements will work. That's still awhile away but it was exciting to visualize and imagine what it will be like. Though, I'm sure it will be quite different when it actually happens!

She will now type up our "homestudy." Based on the types of questions we've been asked, I assume it will be a glimpse into our life and how we plan to parent. We've talked a lot about how we grew up, our relationships with our family, friends, and of course...each other. We've had to talk about how we make decisions, how we disagree, how our house runs, etc. Though some of the questions have gotten personal, we left every meeting feeling so energized about our marriage and our life's new path.

Our social worker will send the homestudy to DCFS who has to approve it. Once it is approved, it will be sent to UCIS. You don't need to know what all of this means, just that these are the next few steps. So, we are done with our part. Now we have to wait on other people, mostly government agencies, to do their job.

Overall, the homestudy was a lot of work...but it was worth it. We learned a lot and it has reinforced our commitment to each other and our soon to be child.

Korea Party

This past Saturday my mom and I attended a party at Lifelink, our adoption agency. A few social workers from Eastern (the Korean agency) and foster mothers from Korea were here visiting. The foster mothers were reuniting with some of the children they had taken care of the first months of their lives. The reunions were private, but I'm sure they were emotional and special.
For the rest of us, there was food, crafts, a dance performance and a tae kwon do demonstration. I was able to reconnect with some of my fellow Lifelink waiting buddies that Dave and I met at the adoption training day. I also got to meet in person some of the friends I have gotten to know online. Of course, my mom loved meeting them all :) All of us though really loved seeing the kids. I may be biased, but really they were so cute! There were some babies that had just come home, up to about 12yrs old. Most of the kids were 2-8yrs, and they really seemed to be having a blast.
Overall, it was a very festive day filled with friends, Korea, and cuties!

Hungry?

Food is a great way to learn and connect to a culture...and who doesn't love to eat?! Korean food is similar to other Asian food in that many dishes have rice or noodles, vegetables and a protein (beef, seafood, chicken). Korean food has some delicious spices and the spicy food is so good. When you eat in a Korean restaurant you are brought around 12 side dishes that have everything from potato salad, to kimchi, to vegetables. Kimchi is the most well-known Korean food and is a staple.

Some of the most popular entrees are bulgogi (soy marinated grilled beef ), bimbimbap (bowl of rice with vegetables, meat, and a fried egg on top), broiled short ribs and seafood pancake. Many of the meat dishes are cooked at the table.

We are lucky to live in such an ethnically diverse city, Chicago. There is a large Korean population that offers great restaurants. Here are a few (click on the name for info):
Cho Sun Ok

Jin Ju (trendy)

San Soo Gab San

Solga

Su Ra

Airarang (located at H-mart)

H-Mart (grocery store in a dozen states...located in Niles and Naperville in Illinois)

Enjoy!
For those of you more familar with Korean cuisine, I'd love to hear about your favorite dishes.

Thank You

The amount of love and support we have received over the past week has been truly awesome. We always knew we had wonderful family and friends, but the past week has been such a glowing reminder of that blessing. So thank you all...we feel so lucky to have you in our lives!


"Just as a house needs a foundation in order to stand firm, so does a person." -Jacquie McTaggart